AU: This part is more of a prolouge/intro. The truth or dare part will be in next chapter. Enjoy! ^_^
It was a beautiful day in Magnolia. Birds chirped, the sky was a radiant blue and cloudless, and friendly citizens were helping each other out with every day tasks. Children played in the streets and goods were bought and sold.
Not so much in the nearby city of Washika. Team Natsu had been chasing after some robbers the day before and managed to destroy half the city.
Upon learning the fateful news, Makarov's face darkened and he stared at the floor. He sat in his usual spot in the guild, legs crossed. Team Natsu stood before him, also staring at the floor, but shamefully. "What," Makarov whispered, "WERE YOU GUYS THINKING?!" The rest of the guild was usually noisy and rowdy, but the noise died down after the guildmaster spoke.
Erza lifted her chin and stared at the master. "My deepest apologies. I'll handwrite write sorry letters to everyone whose home was destroyed and help with the cleanup to the best of my ability. I know it will never fully make up for what I've done, so I'm willing to accept any punishment you inflict." After she finished speaking, her head tipped back down, staring at the ground again.
Makarov nodded, pleased. "And what do the rest of you have to say?" He asked, still angry but less so.
"IT WAS HIS FAULT!" Gray and Natsu screamed in unison, pointing at each other. "If SOMEONE hadn't blown up the entire pillow factory, Aries wouldn't have felt outdone by the fluffy pillow feathers and gone bezerk just when we were relying on her the most!" Gray yelled, clothes already discarded.
"So irrisponsible.." Charle murmured.
Natsu's fists balled and ignited. "Listen here, stripper!" He yelled while Gray glanced down and gasped, noticing he was nearly naked. "Maybe I blew up the damned pillow factory, but how else would we have caught the bad guys? And who are you to be critisizing, considering you 'accidentally' froze Aquarius' water, causing her to flood so much of the city!" Lucy winced, thinking of the punishment she'd get from Aquarius next time they meet.
"You wanna go, flame-brain?" Yelled Gray.
"Here and now, snow-hoe!" Exclaimed Natsu.
"Noo! Natsu! You can't destroy another building!" Happy cried.
Lucy sighed. "Here they go again.." She groaned.
Before either of them could lay a finger on each other, they were stopped by the look on the master's face. His eyes were closed and he was wearing a huge, happy smile. "Your punishment," Makarov said. "Is to play truth or dare. Everyone besides the winner will have to reconstruct the destroyed city and take only jobs that have no pay at the city for seven days."
They were all stunned into silence. Lucy shifted nervously. Rent was due in four days, and she still needed about 20,000 more jewel besides her food and utility expenses. She couldn't lose this.
Wendy started crying. "I'm so sorry master!" she exclaimed. "I'm not a good wizard! I didn't mean to blow the flames from Natsu's fire to all over the town!"
"It gets better!" The master yelled, grinning happily. A small crowd had formed around Team Natsu and the master. "Since this crowd is so interested in the truth or dare game, looks like you'll all be in it!"
Lucy's heart sank. Her odds of winning had gone from 20% to who knows what. She glanced around. The crowd consisted of Gajeel, Levy, Laxus, and Juvia. Not as many as she expected. so that was a relief.
"Such an honor to be playing this with Gray-sama!" cried Juvia. Gray rolled his eyes.
Laxus shrugged. "Eh, whatever. I aready have all my expenses covered for a while."
Levy glanced around her, shifting her feet. Gajeel folded his arms onto his chest, both of them looking away from each other. "Well, Shrimp, I guess we'll have to." And Levy nodded, blushing.
"But you!" the master noted, glancing at Erza. "You did the most damage. I expected better from you, Erza. Not only did you cause so much damage, but as an S-Class mage, you're expected to stop others from their destructive habits!"
Erza frowned and stared at the floor. "I just tried to cancel out Natsu's flame by using the water power that my Sea Empress armor gave me. I didn't mean to help Aquarius flood everything, and with all the water she produced, I was shocked and ended up panicking a little. I guess that's why I spread Aquarius' water everywhere, flooding much more of the town than she would have.. and that ancient library got flooded, too? My deepest regrets, master."
Makarov scowled. "Your regrets won't bring back those ancient texts! As an extra punishment for you, Jellal will be joining the game." Erza's cheeks instantly reddenned. "The game will take place in Lucy's dorm at 8 pm, since it's obvious everyone would be there if the game never even happened in the first place. I expect you all to tell me honestly who won. Also, if you don't show up, the punishment will be doubled."
Lucy scowled. "It's always at my house!"
Natsu nodded and grinned. "Strange, but okay. I'm gonna beat all of you!" He yelled.
"In your dreams!" Gray retorted.
Wendy sulked in a corner. "Child, if you ever want to get it over with, you have to face it head on!" Commanded Charle.
"She's right," Noted Lily.
The conversation continued, but soon enough, the day was over and they each headed to their own houses, besides Natsu and Happy. They decided to sleep at Lucy's. Of course, they never bothered asking her if they could sleep there, but at this point Lucy just glared and motioned for them to come along.
...
It was late. Everyone had gone home, and the guild hall was empty besides Mirajane tidying up, and Makarov, who was talking to her. Elfman and Lisanna were waiting outside.
"Erza didn't actually cause so much damage, did she?" Mirajane asked, smiling while wiping a glass.
After remaining silent for a few seconds, the master sighed. "No,"
"That means you were just making an excuse for Jellal to join in? Are you a matchmaker now, Makarov?" Mirajane giggled.
The master sighed. "I've seen the way he looks at her. He's a fine man, Jellal, but he has yet to leave his past behind. He really does need help, and I think Erza can give that to him. Truth be told, they really are one of a kind, Erza and Jellal. They mend each other. And without her, he'd live the rest of his life with little or no meaning."
Mirajane nodded, smiling. "I should go, now. Goodnight, master."
"Goodnight, Mira."
...
Erza and Levy usually had sleepovers. Living in the same apartment complex, they hung out and talked or read together. They sat on Erza's bed, Levy's apartment being too crowded with all the books everywhere, and read pervy books aloud, laughing and blushing. Tonight, Levy knocked on Erza's door.
Erza opened the door and grinned. Levy had shown up in her pijamas, so she assumed she'd sleep over. Levy also carried a few books, all of them pervy. She also held some magazines, which weren't pervy, thankfully.
Before long, they were chatting on Erza's bed while reading the magazines. "Hah! It says here that boys like it when girls dress daringly!" Erza laughed. "If I'm going to dress 'daringly' it'll be because I want to, not because someone else does."
Levy nodded. "Hey, speaking of boys," She set down her magazine and grinned at Erza, who met her eyes and blushed. "Are you okay with Jellal coming to the truth or dare thing tomorrow? He hurt you, right? If it's too cruel, I'm sure we can work out something with the master."
"I forgave him long ago. He just can't seem to forgive himself," Erza said, saddened by the fact.
"How could you forgive him? Didn't he enslave your friends and betray you?" Levy asked, not angry but merely curious.
Erza scratched her head and explained. "He was possessed by Ultear who was under the influence of Zeref. They're both trying to repent for what they've done by forming a crime busting guild with Ultear's adoptive daughter, Meredy. I get so sad, sometimes, thinking of how they don't forgive themselves for what they've done." Erza realized what she said, right after it came out of her mouth. She admitted weakness. Her hands slightly shook, but she tried to ignore Levy's stare and just looked anywhere but into Levy's eyes. The ground, the wall, a bookshelf, a desk, anything besides Levy's concerned eyes.
"So someone forced him to torture his best friend ever since he was a kid? He had no control over his actions and was forced to hurt the one person he really loved?" Erza blushed, and she was about to claim he probably didn't love her, but Levy kept speaking. "Even though he never chose what he did, he always remained sorry and tries to protect you as much as he can?" Levy asked.
"Yes." Erza said. She sat cross legged on her bed, Levy in the same position across from her. She wondered what Levy was thinking. Probably thoughts of pity, or how Erza should have killed him to put him out of his pain. But Levy wasn't thinking any of that. She wrapped her arms around Erza's waist and laid her face on Erza's shoulder, enveloping her in a warm hug. Erza's back was stiff and she was shocked at what Levy had just done. "Wha?" slipped out of Erza's mouth, flabbergasted.
"I'm really sorry, Erza. A lot has been done to him, and I know that you guys just have this connection.." Levy whispered. Erza's back slowly became more and more yielding, and she also embraced Levy. "I know that you feel his pain because of that connection. And I'm really sorry. You guys have both been wronged, and we'll have to stop Zeref. We will, one day. I know we will."
Erza smiled. She assumed others would be prejudiced, but she had underestimated how strong her bonds were with her friends. "Thank you," Erza told her wholeheartedly.
She soon pulled back from the hug, smiling widely. "What about you and Gajeel? I saw you two on the ride together!"
Levy's face turned red. "Oh, I just like him. He's nice."
Erza laughed. "Nice? Gajeel? Get outta here! And anyway, I see the way he looks at you. He feels something for you, I know it."
"But.. but I'm not curvy," Levy said quietly. "I don't have boobs like you or Lucy, and I don't have curves and I'm just short and skinny. I'm not powerful, and I'm just not really good enough."
Erza frowned. "If a guy judges you on how big your chest is, please tell me Levy, so we can both kick his ass out of town together. I know you're not powerful, but you're so smart. You've saved Team Natsu all too many times. Be proud of your build, Levy. You really are pretty, and all too many times I've wished I looked like you."
"Thanks, Erza." She said, smiling.
They spent the rest of the night reading pervy books and laughing so hard their eyes watered. Eventually, they both went to bed, happy.
Everywhere, Fairy Tail members fell asleep smiling.